LINKS

18 August 2011

Okay, I wish I had the time to really get into this today, but I've been busy trying to update all my PowerPoint screens for a presentation TOMORROW onFootnote.com-- uh -- I meanFold3! What the heck is Fold3, you ask?

Well, today Footnote.com and Ancestry (it's owner, as of this past year) announced that Footnote.com was changing its name and refocusing theirprimarydirection toU.S. Military Records. According to the press release"The Fold3 name is derived from the third fold in a traditional military flag folding ceremony which "is made in honor and remembrance of the veteran departing our ranks who gave a portion of his or her life for the defense of our country to attain peace throughout the world."

What about all their other collections and the use/interaction with Ancestry.com? Their press release also states,"Many family historians and genealogists may use Ancestry.com to find an ancestor who served in the military and then use Fold3 to discover the details of their service."So what they are saying is that you still have to subscribe to both sets of records. If you want detail on any military records then you have to subscribe to Fold3. So does that mean that all of Ancestry's military IMAGES will be moved to Fold3? I don't know the answer to that, we'll just have to wait and see.

On a brighter note, I have spent the day using the site in great depth in an attempt to update my presentation so I tried to recreate just about everything. And it was relatively easy to do. Right now there are very few changes on the site with the exception of the layout. Most all functionality is still there. Since I have a few screen images from the old site I can share a few examples here.

The old site has multiple ways to search for records. Those features are the same in the new site layout, just in a little different location.

Keyword / Name Search:

Historical Era / War-Other Search:

I have more examples and will try to post more in a few days when the conference is over. Just remember that CHANGE is inevitable -- and it's the only thing that is truly a guarantee in this life! So continue to have fun in your research!